Cloud Gazing
by Jennifer Lusk
Summary: KyoRu pairing. Kyo regrets yelling at Tohru. He tries to apologize indirectly. They confess their feelings. Rated for mild language.


Cloud Gazing  
  
AN: This was a request from a friend of a friend. This is a KyoRu pairing, non-lemon.  
  
Standard Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to the characters in this fic. I do not receive any royalties for my writing. If any licensed products are mentioned in this fic, I have no rights to them either, nor do I receive any royalties or compensation for mentioning them. (Wow, I kinda like my disclaimer this time. It's all nice and official sounding. ^_^)  
  
Kyo sighed miserably as he watched the clouds drift past. It was a lovely day. Too bad he had to ruin it with his big mouth, again. Why did he always say such horrible things to Tohru? He didn't even mean them. It was like his mind and mouth were completely disconnected.  
  
Kyo sighed again. Maybe he would just skip dinner. He really didn't feel able to face her right now. He was too ashamed. You would think he would eventually stop hurting her feelings by learning from his past mistakes.  
  
A small noise beside him caught his attention. He turned his head and saw Tohru kneeling silently beside him. How long had she been there? He was glad he didn't jump out of his skin like he normally did when she would startle him on the roof.  
  
He met her worried gaze with his troubled one. Sighing, again, Kyo looked back up towards the sky. "Do you know what Rorschach ink blot tests are?" He asked softly.  
  
"No. What are they, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked just as softly. She knew he would stay up here all night worrying about what he'd said if she didn't step in and patch everything back up. It always worked best if she just remained near him silently. He always worked his way around to setting things right.  
  
Her feelings hadn't been hurt. She knew he hadn't meant what he said. In his mind, though he had to set everything straight. So, she came up here and waited. When Kyo hadn't noticed her after the first fifteen minutes, she made a small noise to gain his attention. How did inkblot tests fit in?  
  
"It's a blot of ink on a piece of paper. Psychologists use these blots to determine how crazy people are. Essentially what happens is the human mind makes whatever shape out of the blot it wants. So if you are crazy or psychotic you'd see things in the blots that would let the shrink know your mental state."  
  
Kyo sighed again as he kept his gaze on the clouds. He could feel the waves of confusion rolling off the rice ball. Kyo patted the roof beside him. "Here, lay back and cloud gaze with me." He felt Tohru bump against him a few times as she did what he asked. When she got still, he pointed to a large cloud formation. "What does that cloud look like to you?"  
  
Tohru followed his finger's direction and studied the cloud for a few minutes. "I see lopsided house. What do you see?" She finally said with a blush. It sounded silly to say.  
  
Kyo smiled briefly. "I see a girl crying as she is kneeling." He pointed to a different cloud without waiting on her to comment. "How about that one?"  
  
Tohru studied it as she began to understand. The clouds were like those ink blots. Kyo was telling her what was on his mind right now. "I see a person, but he's so far away I can't distinguish his features."  
  
"I see a boy with his back turned." Kyo said softly before pointing to a third cloud.  
  
Tohru clasped her hands together on her chest to keep from touching Kyo. He wasn't ready for that comfort, yet. She followed his finger again. "I see two friends, holding hands."  
  
Kyo sighed heavily. That was definitely not what he saw. "I see a boy yelling and hurting a girl's feelings." He pointed to another cloud formation. "How about that one?"  
  
"I see two friends hugging. It's a boy and a girl. They look happy to be together." Tohru said softly.  
  
Kyo turned his head sideways to look at Tohru's profile. "Really?" He asked softly. He definitely didn't see that.  
  
Tohru turned her face towards Kyo's. "Really." She said firmly.  
  
"She's not upset with the boy at all?" Kyo questioned softly, needing to hear the response from Tohru's lips. He saw the understanding and compassion in her eyes.  
  
"Not one bit. If anything, I'd say she loved him." Tohru replied softly. She watched Kyo's eyes widen in shock at her statement. Tohru flushed and jumped up. "I need to start dinner." She dashed down the ladder; worried she'd upset Kyo with her confession.  
  
Why had she said it? Kyo didn't love her. She was just a friend. "Baka!" Tohru said to herself as she busied herself with dinner preparations. Shigure stood in the doorway watching Tohru's normally smooth motions become increasingly choppy as her inner turmoil continued to escalate.  
  
"Is something wrong, Tohru-kun?" Shigure asked, entering the room. He watched as she jumped a good foot into the air from the sound of his voice.  
  
"No, Shigure-san. I'm just stupid sometimes." She said as tears welled up. Shigure caught Tohru's upper arms before she could hug him as she began to cry. He released one of her arms and slowly began to rub her back trying to figure out what was wrong.  
  
Kyo and Yuki had been having another meaningless petty fight. Tohru had tried to break it up. Kyo had said something mean and ran off after he realized what he said. Was she upset by that incident? "Is it what Kyo- kun said?" He asked softly.  
  
"No. It was something I said." Tohru said between hiccups. Shigure used the sleeves of his yukata to dry Tohru's tears.  
  
"Now, now. I'm sure it's not as bad as you think." Shigure said as he continued to rub soothing circles on Tohru's back. "Why don't you tell me about it and I can give you a different perspective."  
  
Tohru sighed and took a deep breath before beginning with the fight and ending with her confession. Shigure stood stunned. His hand was frozen mid-circle. Tohru took his hesitation badly. "I knew it! I was stupid!" She tried to turn away but Shigure caught her arms and held her in place.  
  
"Shhh.. You weren't a baka. I think you were very brave. One of the hardest things anyone can do is openly admit their feelings without knowing the other persons." Shigure's thumbs circled over Tohru's upper arms. "I was just stunned. I never knew you felt so strongly about Kyo-kun." Tohru's eyes met Shigure's. A stray thought entered the inu's mind.  
  
"What did Kyo-kun say after you confessed?" Tohru flushed and looked down. Shigure smiled knowingly. "You didn't wait for his answer did you?" Tohru slowly shook her head as she looked down. Shigure laughed softly.  
  
"I bet you he's still sitting up there stunned right now. You took me by surprise so imagine how Kyo-kun took it. He doesn't think anyone will ever love him in that way. I bet you dinner and a movie for two that he tries to talk to you after dinner."  
  
Tohru smiled softly. "You are on." Tohru agreed. "Ano, Shigure-san. Who will you take if you win?"  
  
"I really don't know." Shigure said after a small pause. "I'm kind of between relationships right now." Shigure said with a sad smile before walking out of the kitchen. Tohru returned to cooking.  
  
* Up on the Roof *  
  
Kyo's unseeing gaze stared at the sky. Had Tohru really said she loved him, or had it been some weird daydream? Kyo rolled over onto his stomach, propping his chin on his arms. He mentally replayed his entire conversation with Tohru. He never said he was sorry. Had she understood his underlying meanings or had she only understood the upper layer of their conversation?  
  
Kyo groaned and put his forehead where his chin had been. He heard a rustling movement and tilted his head enough to glance out of the corner of one eye. Shigure was peeping over the edge of the ladder. Kyo sighed and rolled back over onto his back.  
  
"What do you want?" He asked gruffly.  
  
"I know you can do better than that, Kyo-kun. That lacked your usual anger and sarcasm. Has my little flower's confession softened you so much?" Shigure teased.  
  
Kyo sat up straight and looked hard at the grinning inu. "She DID confess, then?" He asked sharply.  
  
Shigure winked and tapped his nose. "Hai, baka. If she hadn't why did you think she ran off so quickly?"  
  
"I don't know. Girl troubles?" Kyo answered as he rested his chin on his drawn up knees. He straightened and glared at his older cousin. "How did you know she confessed?"  
  
"She was in the kitchen sobbing because she thought you didn't return her feelings and she had burdened you. I set her straight, though." Shigure said with a leer.  
  
Kyo jumped up, fists clenched. "You better not have done anything ecchi with her you pervert!" Kyo yelled as he took the bait.  
  
"You better do something fast then, because nothing is more receptive than a female on the rebound. I'd hate to see Yuki step in and take what could have been yours." Shigure said as he began to descend the ladder, ignoring the neko's death glare.  
  
Kyo stared at the empty ladder for all of one minute. "That's not going to happen!" Kyo hissed as he quickly descended from the roof. He hesitated at the entrance to the kitchen. Tohru was staring into a pot of something that smelled like sukiyaki (sp?).  
  
Kyo slowly stepped into the kitchen and approached Tohru. She seemed unaware of his approach. Kyo coughed into his hand to get her attention. Tohru whipped around so fast she lost her balance. Kyo sprang forward to catch her, belatedly realizing he was too close to keep the distance required between them. * Poof *  
  
Tohru sat back on her heels, quickly checking the small orange neko for injuries. He seemed okay. Her fingers gently traced over his ribs earning a small chuckle from the prone form as he twitched his feet before sitting up. "That tickles." Kyo said softly, a smile evident in his voice.  
  
"I'm sorry, Kyo-kun." Tohru said softly. The neko met her worried gaze with his.  
  
"I'm not." He replied softly. This was not how he intended to confess, but he had to set her straight before she turned to Yuki for comfort or worse. Shigure!!! He slowly padded forward to sit back on his haunches. He tilted his head back to meet Tohru's gaze.  
  
"I'm glad you came up on the roof and listened to me. I'm even more glad to know how you feel." Kyo sighed and looked down. "I never expected you to love me. I knew you thought of me as a friend, but I never expected more." Kyo looked back up into Tohru's shimmering eyes. "I love you as well. I have for a while now but was too scared to say anything." Kyo stopped speaking and watched emotions flash across Tohru's face.  
  
Without warning, Tohru scooped him up in a tight hug and pressed a small kiss on top of his head between his ears. She continued to hug him close with her soft cheek pressed against his furry one. He started to purr, much to Tohru's delight.  
  
Shigure smiled from the hallway. Sometimes a gentle nudge was all that was needed, sometimes a huge kick in the ass. The results were the same, nonetheless. 


End file.
